Published On 23 Dec 2025
A law that allows the shutdown of foreign media outlets for an additional two years has been approved by the Israeli parliament.
The bill, which replaces the temporary measure passed in April, includes several changes intended to end judicial oversight. Even if Israel is not in a state of emergency, it can now be used.
Within weeks of the Knesset passing the law, Israel suspended Al Jazeera operations there in May 2024.
The law authorized the prime minister and communications minister to impose a ban on foreign networks that operate in Israel and to seize their equipment if they were found to be “dangering the state’s security.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X on April 1, 2024, claiming that “Al Jazeera harmed Israel’s security, actively participated in the massacre of October 7 and incited Israeli soldiers.”
He declared, “I intend to immediately take action in accordance with the new law to stop the activity of the channel.”
The Qatar-based network at the time claimed that Netanyahu had made “slanderous accusations” and that Israel’s repression of free press and   was “in violation of international and humanitarian law.”
In a statement released in May 2024, Al Jazeera said in a statement that the Israeli Prime Minister was held accountable for the safety of its network and employees around the world for his incitement and false accusations.
Al Jazeera insists that such derogatory accusations won’t stop us from carrying out our provocative and professional reporting, and that it is open to legal action.
According to the law, Al Jazeera’s website and television channel are still blocked in Israel.
Israel has previously targeted The Network: In 2017, Netanyahu threatened to halt operations in Jerusalem, and in 2021, an Israeli missile detonated the broadcaster’s headquarters in Gaza.
In Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza, many Al Jazeera journalists and, in some cases, their families were killed. In addition to the more than 200 Palestinian journalists killed during the two-year conflict, there are Anas al-Sharif and three other Al Jazeera journalists who were killed in Israeli attacks in August.
Source: Aljazeera
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